Speech delay - DLA

[Lilice]

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Speech delay - DLA1
Today 18:31Lilice

My son is 4 and has speech delay. I raised the issue when he was two with his pediatrician and so far very little has been done. We were told he had to be three to be seen by a slt. All they've done is come and assess him, and give us material to work at home. His preschool are involved and also given material. I think he really needs proper 1 to 1 sessions with a slt on a weekly basis, instead of being simply assessed every 6 months or. He was finally put on the waiting list end of last year. I rang today to get an update and was told more staff had left and now the wait is 6 months. He's starting reception in September and I dont want to wait that long. He shouldn't be starting school was already a disadvantage. I cant afford to go private but that's what I have to do now. I'm thinking if applying for dla to help me with the payments. Has anyone had any success in applying and receiving dla for a child that has speech delay? I should add that he had glue ear, only discovered when he was around 2, had grommets and his hearing is normal now. He was non verbal for a while, since last year he's made progress but doesnt speak in sentences and his pronunciation is very hard to understand, even for us his parents. Any advice, shared experiences is welcome

[Mummy0ftwo12]

I applied when DS was 3 but was turned down, the LEA provided funding for a 1-1 in nursery but they wouldn't fund speech therapy and in our area ongoing nhs speech therapy for 3 year olds doesn't seem to happen, I had quite strong evidence that he had a significant need thanks to the LEA but I was still turned down for DLA, never appealed though, ended up paying privately for fortnightly then monthly sessions.

[AladdinMum]

It is highly unlikely that DLA would pay for private speech therapy as speech delays are very common at this age. 1-to-1 sessions through SALT are also going to be rare, they tend to be group sessions. Most people tend to go private or use the material to do it themselves as it's not very difficult and can incorporated in everyday situations (there are many youtube videos showing you how to apply many simple and effective techniques - at this age speech therapy is through play).

[Lilice]

Thank you for the input. My husband and I do a lot with him at home with the materials but his mistakes are also disordered and his progress is so slow. It's so hard to understand what he says. Yesterday he was trying to tell me he had a sore tummy but I couldn't understand. He started getting upset and I eventually understood. I feel it's unfair to him to be stuck in such a state. He wouldn't be able to tell his own name if he ever got lost. I will apply for DLA and see what happens. In any case, I will go through private speech and language therapy no matter what the cost because I have to think of his well being.

[AladdinMum]

Have you tried to teach him some simple PECS or makaton? that would certainly be discussed in private speech therapy. It could help with the frustration of not being able to communicate effectively. Though, if his tummy was hurting, would he not have been able to use gestures with his hands to elaborate if he was not being understood? (rub his tummy, point to his tummy, etc?) if not, then makaton could have helped in that situation if he had knew the sign for 'pain'.

[Mummy0ftwo12]

I still remember my two year old not being able to tell me where it hurt when he was stung by a wasp :-(

I found the teachmetotalk website really useful though.